Chapter 505: More Venom Than Beauty

Lilith’s smile widened, and she tilted her head toward Isolde with a sly, knowing look.

"And now he’s the one who’s bound you. How the tables have turned."

Isolde’s calm composure cracked. Her cheeks flushed red, and she turned sharply toward Lilith.

"Fix your wording, Lilith."

Lilith didn’t answer. She simply lifted her cup and took a slow sip of tea, her crimson eyes watching Isolde over the rim with pure satisfaction. The blush on Isolde’s face only deepened.

Selena watched the exchange for a moment, then turned her gaze toward Celine, who had been standing frozen in place, trembling with silent rage.

"You should probably put her back, Isolde. I’m starting to feel sorry for her."

Celine’s head snapped toward Selena. Her eyes blazed with fury.

"I don’t need your pity, human!"

Isolde set her cup down with a soft click, her expression returning to its usual calm.

"I’m not restraining her. She’s doing this to herself." She glanced at Celine, her voice flat. "She wants to kill her master. That’s why she can’t move."

Celine’s jaw tightened. Her fists clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms.

"You damn vampire... I’ll kill you... I swear I’ll kill you..."

Isolde didn’t look at her. She picked up her tea and took another slow, elegant sip.

"You can try."

Lilith leaned back in her chair, her smile still playful and satisfied.

"But she’ll be useful. Especially since she has some information we might need later."

Selena nodded slowly, her gaze fixed on Celine with renewed interest.

"I’m intrigued by that too. She’s the White Demon who led the war at the front. She must have valuable information."

Celine’s eyes narrowed. Despite the invisible chains holding her in place, her voice came out sharp and defiant.

"You think I’ll tell you anything? You’re all fools if you believe that."

She glared at each of them in turn, her hatred burning brightest when her eyes landed on Isolde.

"I’d rather die than help any of you."

After saying that, Celine felt a chill run down her spine under Isolde’s brief stare, and Isolde smiled faintly.

Lilith, however, smiled wider. She rested her chin on her palm and tilted her head, watching Celine like a spider watching a wounded prey.

"Oh, I don’t know about that." Her voice was light, almost playful. "You’re already bound. You can’t move unless your master allows it. You can’t lie to her. You can’t even die unless she lets you."

She paused, letting the words sink in.

"So really... what choice do you have?"

Celine’s jaw tightened. Her fists trembled at her sides, but she didn’t answer.

Lilith’s smile sharpened.

"That’s what I thought."

Celine’s lips parted, but no words came out. For a long moment, she just stood there, trembling, her hatred burning behind her eyes with nowhere to go.

Then, slowly, she straightened her back. The invisible chains strained against her movement, but she forced herself upright anyway, her chin lifting with the last shred of her pride.

"You’re right," she said quietly. "I can’t move. I can’t lie. I can’t even die."

Her voice was calm now.

"But that doesn’t mean I’ll cooperate."

She looked at Isolde, then at Lilith, then finally at Selena.

"You want information about Thanatos? About the Demon King’s plans? About what’s coming next?" She smiled. "Then you’ll have to break me first."

Lilith rose from her chair with a slow, deliberate grace, her white dress whispering against the floor as she stepped around the table.

She folded her hands on the desk and leaned forward slightly.

"If you’re going to torture her, don’t do it here." Her voice was calm but firm. "I don’t want you dirtying my office."

Lilith didn’t even glance back. She waved one hand dismissively, the gesture light and unconcerned.

"Relax. I’m not going to torture her." She stopped a few paces from Celine, tilting her head. "I’m just going to have a little conversation."

Selena sighed, but didn’t stop her.

Celine bit down on the inside of her cheek. Her body strained against the invisible chains, but she couldn’t move. She could only watch as Lilith approached, step by step, like a predator circling wounded prey.

Lilith stopped directly in front of her. She looked down at Celine with those crimson eyes, and her lips curved into a slow, satisfied smile.

"Good," she said softly. "If you cooperated right away, this wouldn’t be any fun."

Celine’s eyes burned with hatred. Her voice came out low and sharp, each word grinding through clenched teeth.

"Kuh! I’m not afraid of you."

Lilith’s smile only widened. She raised one hand, slow and deliberate, and pressed her palm against the base of Celine’s horn.

Celine’s entire body jerked. Her eyes went wide.

"What are you doing?! Don’t touch my horns!!"

Lilith didn’t pull back. If anything, her fingers curled tighter around the horn, tracing its curve with deliberate, almost intimate slowness. She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Why not?" she murmured. "You belong to us now. So I can touch you however I want."

Celine’s breath hitched. Her face twisted with rage. She tried to pull away, but the chains held her in place. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t escape. She could only stand there and endure it.

Lilith’s thumb brushed along the ridges of the horn, slow and deliberate, and Celine’s entire body shuddered.

"Stop it...!" Her voice cracked. "I’ll kill you... I’ll kill you, I swear...!"

Lilith laughed softly, the sound low and intimate.

"You keep saying that." She tilted her head, her lips brushing against the tip of Celine’s ear. "But we both know you can’t. So why don’t you stop pretending, and start learning your place?"

Celine’s teeth clenched so hard her jaw ached. Her eyes burned with unshed tears of fury, but she didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

Lilith finally released the horn, stepping back with a satisfied smile.

"See? That wasn’t so hard."

Celine didn’t respond. She just stood there, trembling, her pride in pieces at her feet.

Selena watched from her seat, quietly surprised that Lilith had managed to break the demon’s spirit so easily.

’So she’s more venomous than she looks,’ she thought.

Isolde had gone very still, her eyes fixed on the scene, as if she had always known how dangerous Lilith could be when she aimed for someone’s mind.

Lilith turned back toward them, her smile bright and cheerful, as if nothing had happened.

"Well then. Now that we’ve established the ground rules..." She clapped her hands together lightly. "Shall we get back to business?"